“They murmured in their tents, and did not obey the voice of the LORD. Therefore He raised His hand and swore to them that He would make them fall in the wilderness, and would make their offspring fall among the nations, scattering them among the lands. Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.” Psalm 105:25-31
Devotional Thought For The Day
Most of what is recalled in these verses is described in Numbers 25. The children of Israel had traveled north to the edge of the Promised Land and were camped near the Dead Sea on the east side. This was near the land of Moab; the Midianites occupied areas just east and south of where this occurred. It is a rather remarkable account, although it seems to be described in a somewhat flat and factual manner: “the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.” [Num. 25:1-3] When God began punishing them – Moses had declared the death penalty upon all those involved in this idolatry – Phinehas grabbed a spear and killed an Israelite man [Zimri, a Simeonite] and his Midianite “wife” [or perhaps potential fiance, whose name was Cozbi], and this ended the plague [after the death of some 24,000 people].
We’ve previously discussed the wretchedness of the pagan idolatry of this period. Moses assumed that his readers would be familiar with it and would understand that the sentence fit the crime. We however do not consider familiarity and socializing with heathen people to be all that horrible, including participation in their entertainment, customs, and perhaps even their values and morals. We are fairly certain that we would not participate in pagan rituals and sacrifices – but these are not what modern pagans do. Instead, they worship and adore human intellect, ability, and accomplishment more highly than God. Instead, they live for selfishness, pleasures, and titillating entertainment which promotes immorality. But in regard to God, the only True and Living God, they are the same today – they have no time for Him, no faith in Him, no fear of Him, no knowledge of Him, no regard or respect for His Word. And the danger is the same for us as it was for the children of Israel, that we participate in these things without discerning how repugnant they are to God.
With the dissolution of the nation of Israel and the beginning of the church, a non-geographically specific people of God, Christians have for the most part lived as a minority among unbelieving cultures and societies. It is no different in America, although there have been times when perhaps the majority of Americans were genuine Christians. This does not appear to be the case today, although our culture does retain some Christian influences. So it is important for us to understand the dynamics of living as Christians in the midst of worldly unbelief. Jesus first stated the reality: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” [John 15:19] We are “in the world” but not “of the world.” The apostle Paul explained the path we are to walk while in this world: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” [1 Cor. 5:9-11] So, we certainly rub shoulders with, work with, socialize with, and engage in kind and decent behavior and peaceful relationships with unbelievers, even those committed to various forms of immorality. But we must take great care not to get pulled into such immorality, for this would constitute grounds for expulsion from the church – unless and until there is genuine repentance.
Such behavior among Christians, those bearing the Name of Christ, still provokes the Lord to anger. We need to keep this constantly in mind. We do not want to face God’s anger and discipline. So we live in careful repentance each day, retaining our orientation and commitment to the blessedness of God. And while we do not emulate Phinehas’ actions [God forbid!], we are encouraged to have the same faith and zeal for God that permeated Phinehas. By such faith Phinehas was accounted “righteous” in the sight of God, just as we who believe in Jesus are justified by faith. And this was the chief problem with those fraternizing with unbelievers and idolaters – they had forsaken their faith in God. The invitation is supposed to go the other way – we invite those who do not know Christ to meet Him and learn of Him, to see a better way and to receive His blessings and gifts. This has always been the way of true Christians and genuinely churchly people. Likewise, our zeal for the faith should compel us to take a very harsh stand toward those bearing the Name of Christ and yet who participate in the idolatry and immorality of our times and encourage others to the same. The unrepentant cannot be allowed to ply their influence and perversion within the church, lest others be lost. So let us take care to retain a jealousy for the Lord, in a life of genuine repentance, joyful faith, and fervent love for God and others.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, what should be fairly plain and easy for us often gets murky and muddy because of our own sinful minds. Help us to see clearly, to repent honestly, and to find our greatest joy in Your forgiveness, mercy, and love. Help us to live and to interact with others in a manner consistent with the Name You have placed upon us. May we be Your ambassadors without fault or faltering. Amen.